Chapter 6

Previously:

-He seems to be in shock… anything to add, Kisuke?- He turned to the blond researcher who examined a long chart on his PI.

-Brain activity is good just a bit scrambled; joints and limbs intact and soon his system will adjust to the enhancements. All in all, the team has been successfully augmented and the first half of Project: S.O.U.L is a 100% success.- Kisuke answered with a huge grin.


-Kurosaki, how are you feeling?– Commander Jushiro asked as he walked into Medbay and sat next to Kurosaki's bed.

-Bad…could be worse…- He shrugged as he got out of bed. –I don't feel any different though.-

-That should be considered good news right? – Jushiro raised a brow noting the slight disappointment in Kurosaki's remark.

-You and Urahara said we spent a month in gene-pods while we were augmented. I want to know how the others are. Where are Ishida, Orihime and Chad? –

-They are being treated in the rooms next door.- Kurosaki was about to get up but Jushiro put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. -Don't worry.- Jushiro stated making sure that Ichigo would stay put before he continued. -Once the rest of the team undergoes the required medical exams, you'll all receive your new gear and assignments.–

-New gear? What's wrong with our own?– Ichigo asked.

Jushiro decided to go with the simplest explanation which also happened to be the same way Urahara explained to him, when he initially asked. –You outgrew them.-

-I see.- Ichigo stated, sounding a bit skeptical. – I suppose that's to be expected- He said after looking down at his arm, and flexing it a bit. He may not have felt different, but he could definitely see the difference.

-Also, High General Yamamoto was briefed about the current situation, it is only a matter of time now when The Board acknowledges what we have achieved here.–

-So, what or where are we going to be assigned?- Ichigo asked.

-Not to Emphesos, that's for sure.– Jushiro looked down in disappointment. –The devastation was worse than we thought. The fleet managed to push the Dominion out, but by that time, there was already too much damage.–

-I read the briefings… do we have any intel on those rogue Hollow units? –

-Not much…just what Kisuke has been able to share… they were referred to as 'Arrancars'. They were fitted with the best implants and received the best training at the time.– Jushiro explained.

-Just like us, then.– Ichigo pointed out, chuckling a bit grimly.

-Maybe… but I know or at least hope you will never turn out like them.– Jushiro looked up at the young officer with hope in his eyes.

-We won't… not if I can help it – Ichigo reassured his superior with determination.

The examination took a good half day but the results showed nothing out of the ordinary. No serious mutations or any strange disorders. Soon Kurosaki and his team were assembled in one of the briefing rooms. Since they'd been in those pods for a month, they all had a look of surprise on their faces from seeing each other for the first time after that month away. However, upon closer inspection, you could see that they had grown a bit taller, and in Orihime's case, there was slight muscle definition where before she didn't have any. This was due to the hormones Kisuke injected them all with during their comatose state, to help with the augmentation process.

They were all wearing their standard grey T-shirts and navy blue military trousers, Hime looked troubled and tried to avoid Ichigo's gaze the whole time. He did not understand why but he tried to assure her anyway he could for the moment.

-Hime? - He asked her worriedly.

-I'm fine… don't worry I'm… I'm good. - She answered before he could ask any questions. -I'm glad you're alright… I… - She started but then the doors slid open and High General Yamamoto walked in followed by Jushiro and Urahara.

-Forgive me for the abrupt assembly. I understand that you all just went through an intense procedure, and I'm glad that you're all doing well, however we must take immediate action! Commander. – He then turned to Jushiro who stepped forward to begin the briefing.

-Yes, as the General explained we are quite short on time at the moment.- He explained, then entered a few codes on the panel and brought up a wide holo-screen.

-Since you haven't really been trained on the new gear, which you will receive after the briefing, we decided that your first assignment will be a simple one.- The screen then brought up two profiles.

-Even with Kisuke's help, we still don't have enough data on the rogue Hollow units but we may have two solid leads on them. - Jushiro noted as he was going through the stream of data on the screen. –However we may know how to get to them… Intelligence revealed the location of two former Hollow units. With any luck they can provide a link to solve the matter at hand.–

-Sir? - Ichigo raised his arm in question.

-Yes, Kurosaki?–

-I may be wrong here, but... are they former Arrancars? – Ichigo asked a bit hesitantly.

-They were. – Kisuke answered before Jushiro could. –Sadly only these two were cooperating when the project was shut down and they willingly submitted their augmentations in the end.–

-Why didn't you use them then for S.O.U.L? – Ishida asked him with some doubt.

-Intelligence recommended not to. That is until we find out their allegiance… they were lucky to not face the firing squad when they were "dismantled".-

-What do we know about them? – Ichigo asked his superiors after Kisuke finished.


(On board of the UASV Senbonzakura, Medical wing)

-Well… the good news is that your wounds are not infected and will most likely heal within two to three weeks. – A man wearing the navy's standard medical gowns said as he finished patching up Kira.– The bad news is that your left arm was beyond saving so we…- He stopped for a moment knowing that his patient was in no condition to handle too much stress now. –We had to amputate it…I'm sorry…- The medic said his voice full of sympathy.

Kira looked to his left at the patched remains, then stared before him. –What about Momo? – He asked in a low tone.

-Lieutenant Hinamori is in good condition, however it is almost a miracle she survived…pardon me sir if I'm being too forward, but what happened down there? - The medic asked as he put a scalpel and some bandages away.

-I wish I knew. - Kira managed to answer then remained silent with a depressed expression.


(Senbonzakura, Bridge, Communication Chambers)

-Even with our quick reaction and effort, Emphesos still lies in ruins. Dominion forces managed to entrench themselves in the cities and most of the countryside. – The faint holographic image of an Admiral stated gravely.

-It is a loss I know, but we must focus on more crucial matters. Losing this planet means that the core worlds are in similar danger, we must quell this by any means necessary before it spreads further to Seireitei. – A man in his early thirties suggested with a serious look.

-While it is indeed important to secure the segmental capital world, my ships and I will tail the Dominion vessels. – Another holograph of a man, with glasses around the same age answered.

–I won't sacrifice worlds for the sake of one planet, admiral Kuchiki.–

-It is a waste of effort, Admiral Seiji. Your resources are needed here. – Kuchiki declared calmly however he gave his colleague a silent scolding stare.

-That may be the case; however I am not authorized to take orders from the likes of you. – Admiral Seiji told him then his image faded.

-Cursed "Red*"- Kuchiki Byakuya cursed in his mind then turned back to the conversation.

-Leave him be to do as he pleases. By the way Admiral, I believe your marines were the ones who evacuated the last group of civilians off planet.–

-Indeed they did, though I cannot promise them refuge if you want to ask me to do so, sir.–

-No, let the Bureau handle them for now… I wanted to ask about that team your men managed to salvage near Promotion. That captain told many unusual things of what happened down there.–

-Captain Izuru Kira is currently being treated… I'll head back to Seireitei to hand him and Lieutenant Momo Hinamori to the Military. I believe however, that any 'intel' they may have won't be of much use to the Navy.–

-Be that as it may, Admiral, I'd still like to interview them and see for myself whether or not it would be of any use. - The image on the screen saluted, and Byakuya responded with the same salute. The screen then went blank leaving him to his duties.


(Armory, lvl. 54-K)

After the briefing Kurosaki and his team was lead up to receive their new gear, all of them were surprised to hear about their new equipment but they never thought about what they were about to walk into.

-Urahara…- Ichigo wanted to ask but couldn't find the words.

-I see that all of you seem excited, that is a better reaction than I thought. – Kisuke said smiling widely.

-No… much more like dumbfounded… these things look like they weigh a ton.– He walked closer to his new armor that was already assembled in the Armorer.

-Looks can be very deceiving Kurosaki. – The scientist said cryptically as he joined Ichigo and placed a hand on his shoulder. –They are custom tailored to each one of your teammates, I'm extra proud of yours if I do say so myself.- Kisuke stated a bit smugly.

-How are these different from our previous gear? – Ishida asked as he inspected his. –Besides looking bigger. – He added sarcastically.

-I could waste our time by explaining it but…I think I'll just let you try. it. After all, seeing is believing.– He activated his PI and opened the Armory. -The technicans have already calibrated the Armory and hopefully it can equip your new armor now.– Kisuke stepped closer to the machines' panel and checked the new upgraded system.

Kurosaki and the rest of them were still a bit suspicious, yet well aware of their timetable and what little time they actually had to train with the new equipment... They were 'flying blind' so to speak. If someone would just give them just a little more info, they wouldn't feel like they're being left in the dark. Like any other soldier, they didn't trust prototype gear, or anything that 'still needed more testing'.

Ichigo was the first to enter his chamber after a few seconds of thinking, the metal door slid down; closing the way behind him and soon he felt the familiar sensation of being armored up.

-Please stand by. – He spreaded his arms sideways and lifted his head a bit waiting for the process to begin.

Mechanic arms appeared from below his feet carrying the two separate parts of his new gear. The two pieces soon were clapped on the lower part of his legs forming the boots and the shin guards, the arms began to weld them together and Ichigo couldn't help but flinch a little.

The process was continued on his thighs when the Eredium and Vulcanite alloy plates were put on him, he also felt the same stinging pain when the two pieces were finally welded together. Another set of arms slid out clasping the frame of his new chestplate on, four arms then welded a layer of black alloy on the frame then carried on by adding another layer of greyish black as an outer plate.

While the four arms worked on his chestpiece, the two arms from earlier began to weld the arm guards together. He was amazed a bit when seeing himself on the monitors in his new armor, it was more bulky then his later gear was and gave him the impression of Chad's armor but it was more streamlined and smoother.

His lifesigns were normal but he couldn't make sense of the new panel that showed something similar to an X-ray image but what he could see was only the image of his brain and nervous system. Certain pieces of his gear seemed to link themselves to his system which explained the small pinching pains he felt before.

Meanwhile his chest and arm plates were ready and he felt a slight but uncomfortable shock when they linked up to him. The shoulder plates were less troublesome to put on and no pain followed the process. He was now ready to leave the armoring chamber, he was ready to move but then a holopanel appeared before him channeling a stream of data.

S.O.U.L_ UNIT_1

STATUS: ACTIVE

LIFESIGNS: STABLE

ASSESSMENT: PRORITY_MEMBER_CAPTAIN

READY FOR DUTY

The last sentence flashed green before him and the doors to the other side opened up. He stepped outside, but once he'd taken a few steps he realized the armor was much lighter than he first thought and it was actually lighter than their normal gear. With his old gear he could feel a little bit of weight but this felt like nothing. He inspected his arms and his new gauntlets, they moved smoother and the joints were more flexible than before.

-Neat - He commented, soon after he heard the opening sound of the door next to his open up with Ishida walking out.

His armor was similar to Ichigo's iin color but it looked lighter and streamlined, he adjusted his shoulders a bit then looked at him raising a brow.

-Not bad… but yours seems to lack any style...– He remarked.

-Hmph… we'll see, as long I can beat you on the field I think I can live with it.–

Soon Hime's and Chad's side were open as well and the whole team was now ready for deployment.


(On board the UASV Kislev, communication wing)

Several men and women were monitoring the panel before them in the massive hall, the dim lights and continuous chatter coming from the ground was not something that could be endured 24/7. Especially when all that static and chatter were needed to be decrypted to form sensible words.

-Outpost Jhun repeat that… I repeat, please repeat the last part… over.– A man spoke into the coms with an eastern European accent.

His asnwer was little more than jibberish mixed with static but he seemed to understand the nonsense, he typed furiously at his station then looked up at the monitor.

-Anything? – Someone asked from behind him with the same accent.

-Boys are bitching about the cold they say… pussies.– He hissed the last part to his colleague.

-Cold… -75oC and they call that cold. I'd like to see how they would like the hoars of the fatherland in winter period. That is cold… this… is more like a walk on a beach.–

-Agreed… you know, most of the men up here are tired of this shit. The Kislev is a fierce battleship not a dusty relay station… its cannons should be pounding the icy trenches so we could move on now.–

-Da, maybe…-

-You two! Stop yapping and get back to work! – A woman with long nightdark hair and stormy blue eyes yelled at them with the same accent as well. – Slackers are put into the hole… got it? – She gave them a frown that could almost kill.

-Yes, captain!–

The woman looked them over and saw the rest of her subordinates were doing their duty at their station as they should be. Captain Katherina then left the communication wing and continued on her daily inspection, as hard it was for her to admit it but those two were right about the lack of action. Her ship was supposed to be on the front as it should be, ripping holes into enemy hulls and blasting through the lines of dreadnoughts.

-Captain, ma'am. – Her fistmate caught up to her as she was heading to the batteries.

-Report firstmate. – She called out as they continued to walk.

-We caught some comchatter a day ago, priotity message to you ma'am.–

-If it arrived a day ago then why are you showing it to me now? – She glared at her firstmate viciously as she tooked the thin dataslate and started to look it through.

-It was encoded with Obsidian, we needed a Platine access to decode it, ma'am. – He said unphased by her anger.

He noticed that his captain wasn't listening to his words because she was still reading the dataslate.

-Is it bad news, captain? – He managed to ask sounding concerned.

-No… tell the crew to expect VIP on board in 72 hours. – She commanded then purged all the data on the thin device.

-At once, ma'am. – He saluted and ran off.


(Sanctuary world, Zenon)

- What is this? – A woman in a grey labcoat walked up to her assistant.

-An encoded message, it is using Obsidian code. – The other younger woman answered to her superior.

-The Board? What do they want with the Civil Department?–

-It is priority addressed to you doctor. I managed to decrypt it but it still needs a recognition password.–

-I see. – She commented as she typed at the dataslate. She began to read it and her expression turned a bit dark.

-Senna… would you kindly get security for me.– She asked her assistant with a soft voice.

-Yes, doctor. – Senna nodded then activated her PI.

-Forgive me…- The woman said to herself then walked out of her lab.


* the term means a person or personel who is a member/symphatizer of the Labour Union. For further information look up Labour Union

Happy new year everybody, the newest chapter is out. Sorry if it is short but the next one will be longer and I hope more exciting. Also there is a poll going on on my account to decide the future of the story, I decided to ask your opinion about the plot advancement so please check it out and vote, thank you very much!